Srinagar, Aug 12: A migrant worker from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, police said on Friday.
The attack took place around midnight, they said.
During intervening night, #terrorists fired upon & injured one outside #labourer Mohd Amrez S/O Mohd Jalil R/O Madhepura Besarh #Bihar at Soadnara Sumbal, #Bandipora,” the Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.
The police said Amrez was shifted to a hospital for treatment where he succumbed to injuries. (Agencies)
Migrant Labourer Shot Dead By Terrorists In Jammu And Kashmir’s Bandipora
Active Covid cases in country decline to 1,23,535
New Delhi, Aug 12: India added 16,561 new coronavirus cases taking the total tally of Covid cases to 4,42,23,557, while the active cases dipped to 1,23,535, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll climbed to 5,26,928 with 49 fatalities which include 10 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.28 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.53 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 1,541 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
J&K Govt abolishes oral test, interview for various posts of Level-6
SRINAGAR, Aug 11: In a major decision aimed at increasing efficiency, transparency and timely conclusion of recruitment process, the Lieutenant Governor approved the proposal of the General Administration Department to exclude various Level-6 posts from the requirement of conduct of Interview/Oral Test.
The recruitment against these Level-6 posts shall now be made on the basis of Written Test only. The decision shall ensure that selections are objectively fair and merit based, and it paves the way for advertisement of more than 1000 posts including 855 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) which shall be filled up on a fast-track basis through the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board.
Further, the Lieutenant Governor has also directed the identification of posts of similar nature which can be considered for exclusion from the requirement of Oral Test/Interview, for which the process has also been initiated by the General Administration Department.
HDFC Bank starts Gold loan in Doda Branch
By King RJ
Bhadarwah, Aug 11:- With an aim to provide all facilities to it’s customers, HDFC Bank Doda branch inaugurated Gold Loan facility in the Branch.
The Gold Loan Desk established in Doda Branch was inaugurated by Cheif Guest Dr Khalid Muzaffar HoD Orthopedic GMC Doda along with Branch Manager(BM) Doda Nasir Mattoo, ASM Sameer Zarger and SM Irshad Ahmed.
ASM Gold Loan J&K Sameer Zarger said that HDFC is one of the world’s leading bank and now the big player of gold loan business.we have recently started gold loan in Jammu and Kashmir with today in Doda branch as well.
Zarger said that the bank fulfills the needs of customers and provides the fastest gold loan on lowest rate of interest, with zero valuation charges, minimum stamp duty and highest gold value.Nasir Mattoo BM HDFC Doda said that HDFC Bank is committed to provide the best ever facilities to customers at their door steps. The step taken by HDFC to start Gold loan in Doda Branch will cater the needs of people residing in this hilly area. Earlier people have to visit Jammu to avail the facility, but now they can avail here with minimum documentation.
BBM Randeep Kotwal, BOM Musarat Ali, Gold Loan Manger Amir Hamdani, SO Alyas Ahmed, BSM Nadeem Ahmed, PB Aamir Ganai, Teller Iqra Tabassum, SSE Raja Rehber (TW) , Javed Ahmed HDFC Life, Azhar Jameel and others.
Hundreds throng Shankaracharya hills
Srinagar, Aug 11: Hundreds of devotees paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at Jyeshtaeshwara temple on the hills of Shankaracharya in Srinagar on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Thursday.
Long queues of devotees including women and children were seen on the stairs of the temple at Shankaracharya hills waiting for their turn to pray.
Stalls selling prayer items came up in the temple area.
Independence Day special: Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, a freedom fighter and a visionary
Captain Lakshmi or Lakshmi Sahgal, a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an Officer in Indian National Army, and a Minister of the Women’s Affairs in the Azad Hind Government, dedicated her life to public service in various capacities.
Born as Lakshmi Swaminadhan on October 24, 1914, Cpt. Lakshmi was a medical practitioner, a commander of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Rani of Jhansi Regiment, and also a member of Communist Party of India (CPI). Laxmi was a true revolutionary who broke social conventions since her early childhood and spoke against the caste practices in Kerala.
Sahgal witnessed the freedom struggle with her mother, A.V Ammukutty, a social activist and a freedom fighter who later became a member of Constituent Assembly. Sahgal completed her studies in medicine
from Madras Medical College in 1938.
With the outbreak of Second World War when most doctors were being recruited to serve for imperialist forces, Sahgal went to Singapore, and initiated her medical practice considering Indian diaspora along with several Chinese and Malaysian patients living there. She joined the Indian
Independence League formed by veteran freedom fighter, Rashbehari Bose, in 1941. By 1943, the leadership of the League was taken over by Subhash Chandra Bose along with that of INA, which was formed in February 1942 by Captain Mohan Singh and other Indian prisoners of war.
Sahgal was drawn to the freedom movement by Bose and his charismatic leadership. She played an active role in the formation of all-women Infantry Regiment of the INA named after Rani of Jhansi who fought the British Raj in 1857.
She was the only woman member of the Cabinet of provisional government of the Azad Hind Fauj led by Bose.
After her arrest in 1945, she was brought back to India. In 1947, she married Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, who served along with her in the INA.
In the post-independence era, Sahgal resumed her medical practice in Kanpur. She worked with the refugees of post-partition India. She joined CPI/CPM in 1971 and traveled to Kolkata, and worked at the border areas of Bongaon for six weeks providing medical help to the displaced and migrants.
Sahgal was the founding member of All India Democratic Women’s Association which was formed in 1981. The organisation became a suitable platform for her to raise women’s issues consistently, and embark on several campaigns for the same. In 1984, she also went to Bhopal
with a medical team to treat patients of the gas tragedy. She had also confronted frenzied mobs during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 on the streets of Kanpur ensuring the safety of Sikhs around her clinic.
Sahgal dedicated her life to the country and its people for which she looked for opportunities without thinking for consequences. She continued to look after patients in Kanpur till the age of 92 as she charged a very minimal fee or sometimes nothing at all.
She became the joint candidate for the left parties in the Presidential Election of 2002, and ran against APJ Abdul Kalam, but lost the election. She died on July 19, 2012, due to cardiac arrest at the age of 97 in Kanpur. Her body was donated to Kanpur Medical College for medical research.
Lakshmi Sahgal was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award by the then Indian President K R Narayanan. Her legacy lives on for generations to get inspired by her.
Congress to hold protest rallies against price rise, unemployment starting August 17
New Delhi, August 11: Congress party has geared up its attack on the central government on the issue of price rise, GST on some packaged food items and unemployment in the country party and has decided to organise Chaupals across the country.
The party will hold a series of protest rallies in various parts of the country, including agricultural and mandis and retail markets, starting from August 17 till August 23.
The protest rally will end in Delhi’s Ramleela Maidan on August 28.
Congress General Secretary and Communication Incharge Jairam Ramesh in a statement said the party’s nationwide agitation on August 5 against the current government’s what it termed as anti-people policies strongly resonated with the people.
Ramesh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempt to tar legitimate protest as “black magic” only highlights the BJP government’s insecurity about its failure to control rampaging inflation and unemployment.
For the record, India’s retail inflation has been over the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance band of 6 per cent for the sixth consecutive month in a row in June. Retail inflation came in at 7.01 per cent in June.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has been in the double-digit for 15 months in a row now.
The Congress party aims to take this fight forward with the upcoming protests.
Ramesh further added that “The people of India are suffering because of the Modi government’s economic mismanagement. Inflation is being exacerbated by higher taxes on essential goods like curd, buttermilk, and packaged food grains, while the transfer of public assets to crony capitalists and the introduction of the misguided Agnipath scheme are making a bad employment situation worse.”
“The Indian National Congress will continue to spread awareness about these anti-people policies among the people and increase pressure on the BJP government to change course.”
Jammu Srinagar Highway Blocked Due To Massive Landslide Caused By Overnight Rainfall
A massive landslide blocked one lane of the strategic of Jammu-Srinagar national highway early Thursday, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded. The landslide occurred due to heavy rainfall throughout the night. However, men and machinery have been deployed to clear the area.
Notably, the Jammu-Srinagar highway is the sole all-weather road that connects Kashmir to the rest of the country.
2 Washed Away in J&K’s Chenab River
JAMMU, Aug 11: Two people were washed away in flash floods in River Chenab located in the Ramban district of Jammu region. According to officials, rescue efforts are underway to locate and safely rescue the victims. Heavy rain was reported in parts of Jammu and Kashmir. In Ramban town, 2 feared Dead; bikes, cars washed away as roads turned river.
PM Narendra Modi celebrates Raksha Bandhan with daughters of PMO staff
New Delhi, 11 August: In a noble gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Raksha Bandhan with young girls at his residence in Delhi on Thursday. Interestingly, the girls who tied rakhis to PM Modi were the daughters of sweepers, peons, gardeners, drivers, and other employees working at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The prime minister also greeted people on the special occasion of Raksha Bandhan. “Greetings to everyone on the special occasion of Raksha Bandhan,” PM Modi tweeted.